Faramitella Gagné, 2015

Gagné, Raymond J. & Etienne, Jean, 2015, Three new genera and three new species of Lasiopteridi (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on Rubiaceae from Guadeloupe, French West Indies, and a key to genera of Neotropical Lasiopteridi unplaced to tribe, Zootaxa 4028 (4), pp. 511-526 : 513-515

Faramitella Gagné , new genus

Figs. 5–19

Diagnosis. Uniquely derived characters of this genus include the short, strong setae present on all palpal segments, the broad male seventh and eighth tergites without vestiture, the planiform female fused cerci, and the reduction in number of larval papillae, some of them with enlarged setae. Other non-unique derived characters that serve to limit this genus are the three-segmented palpus with some strong, short setae, the lack of trichoid sensilla on the abdominal terga and sterna, and the tapered, protrusible ovipositor with fused cerci.

Description. Adult: Head ( Fig. 5 ): Eyes at vertex nearly connate, about 5 facets long. Eye facets circular, contiguous except slightly farther apart near level of antennal bases and between the eyes at vertex. Antenna: scape and pedicel with a few setae and several setiform scales ventrally; first and second flagellomeres connate. Male antenna with 15–16 flagellomeres, all but apical with short necks; flagellomeres ( Fig. 6 ) with circumfila consisting of a complete subbasal ring and a partial distal ring connected by two vertical strands; short, straight setae encircling base below proximal circumfilum, many long, basally curved setae from hooded alveoli situated between circumfilar rings, these present chiefly on venter. Female antenna with 17–18 flagellomeres ( Fig. 7 ), as for male but without necks, with 2 complete circumfilar rings, and with fewer hooded alveoli and their setae. Frons with many setae and setiform scales. Labella hemispherical in frontal view, with several, strong setae apically. Palpus of 3 segments, first and second spheroid, not much longer than wide, the third usually about twice as long as wide, all segments variously covered with scales and setae, including short, strong setae similar to those of labella.

Thorax: Scutum with 4 longitudinal rows of setae with a few scales intermixed, the 2 dorsocentral rows broadest anteriorly, tapering posteriorly and vanishing before scutellum, the 2 lateral rows continuous along length of scutum. Scutellum with abundant setae on anterior half but discontinuous mesally. Anepisternum with a few scales dorsally; anepimeron setose; pleura otherwise bare. Wing ( Fig. 8 ): C broken beyond junction with R5; R5 straight, reaching C anterior to wing apex; M not apparent; CuA forked. Acropods ( Figs. 9–10 ): tarsal claws strongly curved near midlength, with long, prominent basal tooth; empodia as long as claws; pulvilli slightly longer than half length of claws.

Male abdomen ( Fig. 12 ): Tergites and sternites without anterior pair of trichoid sensilla. Tergites: first through sixth rectangular, short and broad, fourth about 5 times as wide as long, all with single posterior row of setae and covered elsewhere with scales; seventh and eighth only slightly less broad than sixth, eighth evident from the slightly pigmented anterior margin, both completely lacking vestiture. Sternites: second through seventh about twice as broad as long, eighth less than half length of seventh and 3 times as wide as long, all with closely set rows of large posterior setae, with large and small setae and scales near midlength. Pleura covered with scales. Terminalia ( Figs. 11–13 ): cercus ellipsoid, with a few setae dorsally and ventrally on apical third; hypoproct deeply notched, resulting lobes rounded, each with single seta apically; lateral part of gonocoxite cylindrical, mediobasal lobe entire, clasping and nearly as long as aedeagus, with several short apical setae on raised bases, otherwise covered with long setulae; apodeme entire; gonostylus cylindrical, widest near midlength, tapering to apical tooth, mostly glabrous and ridged dorsally, setulose ventrally, setae situated mainly on distal half; aedeagus slightly longer than gonocoxal lobes, convex apically.

Female abdomen ( Fig. 14 ): Tergites and sternites without anterior pair of trichoid sensilla. Tergites: rectangular, first through sixth about 4 times as wide as long, setation as for male; seventh nearly twice as wide as long, with mostly double row of posterior setae, many scales on posterior third, without vestiture elsewhere; eighth about as wide as long, with short setae along posterior margin the only vestiture. Sternites: second through sixth as for male; seventh with mostly double row of posterior setae, scattered long and short setae at midlength and scattered shorter setae and scales on posterior half. Pleura covered with scales. Ovipositor: elongate, somewhat tapered, entirely setulose; eversible part with short ventrolateral setae basally; protrusible part with ventral setae on distal half and thin lateral sclerites, its length (including cerci) about twice length of seventh tergite; cerci ( Figs. 15–16 ) fused, dorsoventrally compressed, parallel-sided, blunt apically, with dorsolateral setae and ventrolateral, very short, mostly peglike setae; hypoproct ( Fig. 16 ) in ventral depression of fused cerci, with 2, short apical setae.

Pupa ( Fig. 17 ): Integument hyaline except pyramidal extended apices of antennal bases pigmented. Vertex on each side with long seta situated on conspicuously raised base. Face smooth, without lobes or apparent papillae. Prothoracic spiracle short. Abdominal terga, pleura and sterna evenly spiculose.

Larva, third instar ( Figs. 18–19 ): Cylindrical. Head capsule hemispherical, apodemes about as wide as head; antennae about as long as wide. Spatula ( Fig. 18 ) robust, elongate, with 2 triangular, anterior teeth. Spiracles present on metathorax. Integument: with large pointed verrucae present on dorsum of first thoracic segment, also a less extensive area on second thoracic segment, and present elsewhere laterally and dorsolaterally on remaining segments, also dorsally but not pointed on eighth abdominal and terminal segments; short, pointed spicules present on anterior and posterior thirds of venter of third thoracic segment and all abdominal segments; smooth elsewhere. Papillae: reduced in number, their setae, when present, barely longer than socket width; present are one group of 3 lateral papillae, 2 setose, on each side of spatula, 4 dorsal and, on each side, 2 pleural papillae on each thoracic and on first through seventh abdominal segments, 1 ventral papilla on each side of eighth abdominal segment, and 6 terminal papillae; abdominal sternal papillae not apparent.

Type-species, Faramitella planicauda Gagné.

Etymology. Faramitella is Latin-derived, combining the first part of Faramea , the host's generic name, and most of remitella (small paddle) in reference to the flat, flipper-like, fused female cerci.

Remarks. Nothing relates Faramitella to the other two genera described here or to Apodiplosis Tavares , the only other genus of Lasiopteridi known from Rubiaceae and described from the female and pupa taken from leaf galls of a Brazilian Psychotria sp. Apodiplosis has discrete instead of fused female cerci, and simple instead of toothed tarsal claws. Males of Faramitella are distinct for their wide male seventh and eighth tergites that are very broad and devoid of vestiture, and females for the fused and flattened cerci that are unlike any known elsewhere. The striking presence of short, strong setae on each of the three adult palpal segments is presumably unique among unplaced genera of Neotropical Lasiopteridi. Interestingly, the larva has metathoracic spiracles. Cecidomyiids are normally peripneustic and lack the metathoracic spiracles. The only other known instance of metathoracic spiracles in Cecidomyiidae occurs in Novocalmonia paucula Gagné (Gagné & Etienne 2009) , another taxon of Lasiopteridi with no apparent close relationship to Faramitella. The larva of Faramitella is unique among unplaced Neotropical Lasiopteridi for its very large spatula, and a reduced number of papillae with setae shorter than their sockets.

Figures

FIGURES 5 – 13. Faramitella planicauda. 5, Female head (frontal). 6, Male fourth flagellomere (lateral). 7, Female fourth flagellomere (ventral). 8, Wing. 9, Acropod (dorslateral). 10, Same (lateral). 11, Male terminalia (dorsal). 12, Male sixth through eighth abdominal segments. 13, Male terminalia (ventral).

FIGURES 14 – 18. Faramitella planicauda. 14, Female postabdomen, seventh segment to end (lateral). 15, Female fused cerci (detail, dorsal). 16, Same and hypoproct (ventral). 17, Pupal anterior segments (ventral). 18, Larval spatula and associated papillae.

FIGURE 19. Faramitella planicauda, larva (laterodorsal). Figures 20 – 23. Anapeza tumida. 20, Male, head and part of thorax. 21, Ovipositor (ventolateral). 22, Pupal anterior segments (ventral). 23, Same (lateral)